VIDEO: Parsons To Head Cuomo’s Education Commission

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced today that he named leading education officials to a New York Education Reform Commission to look at ways to improve the state’s education system.

The group will be chaired by Richard Parsons, the retired chairman of Citigroup.

Cuomo said the “mandate before this commission is broad.” A news release from his office said the commission will study teacher recruitment and performance, student achievement, education funding, parent engagement, problems facing high-need districts and classroom technology.

“None of us are here today to sort of beat up on the public school system and point out necessarily all the things that are wrong,” Parsons, 64, who attended New York City schools, said. “In point of fact, there are many excellent schools in New York and doing great work and turning out really, really terrific young men and women and the challenge is how to do replicate that excellence across the system.”

Cuomo said the commission wouldn’t be tasked with deciding whether to make teacher evaluations public. He said he hopes to have the issue addressed with lawmakers before the legislative session ends in late June.

Cuomo signed an executive order today creating the commission. The commission will submit preliminary recommendations by Dec. 1, and final recommendations by September 2013.